Springfield pastor and candidate for Massachusetts governor Scott Lively called out John Oliver, host of the news/opinion show "Last Week Tonight," in a MassLive.com article that detailed Oliver's distaste for Lively's notoriously anti-gay activism. Oliver blamed him, in part, for draconian laws in Uganda that punish homosexuals with decades in prison.

Lively said his remarks were taken out of context, and Oliver could never go toe-to-toe with him in an unscripted debate.

Now, he won't have to.

It took a few weeks worth of phone calls and emails to media relations representatives, but HBO finally gave MassLive.com its official response to the challenge on Friday: no thanks.

And Lively, the 56-year-old independent candidate in this November's election and author of several anti-gay books, said it's because HBO knows that Oliver can't win.

"HBO is like a bully who has lots of bravado when he's with his gang, but is too cowardly to actually climb into the boxing ring for a fair fight," he said. "I pity them for their lack of honor and integrity."

"It must feel very degrading to know that you can only win an argument by cheating," he said.

HBO offered no explanation for the decision.

Lively wants to run Massachusetts according to Christian tradition with Shelly Saunders as his Lieutenant Governor. A campaign flyer found on his website reads: "A White, Republican, Missionary Pastor/Lawyer and a Black, Democrat, Inner-City Social Justice Advocate have teamed up to bring Biblical values back into Massachusetts politics."

Polls from several newspapers and institutions, including Suffolk University and the Boston NPR affiliate WBUR, find their support in the single digits or below.